The primary sources for postmaster listings and information on post offices are Microfilm Publication M1131, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, October 1789 - 1832, and Microfilm Publication M841, Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832 - September 30, 1971.
Microfilm Publication M1131 consists of four separate rolls: Roll 1 contains the first financial returns of postmasters from 1789 to 1818; Roll 2 (1814-1823), Roll 3 (1824-1828), and Roll 4 (1828-1832) give post office establishment dates and postmaster appointments. The records are arranged for the most part alphabetically by post office on a national, not a state, basis. Some of the pages are not entirely legible, and the records before 1824 do not show the county names for post offices.
Microfilm Publication M841 consists of 145 rolls which are arranged alphabetically by state or territory, then by county, and then by post office, alphabetically and/or by date of establishment. These records show the names of the post offices, the dates of their establishment and discontinuance, any name changes for the office, and the names and dates of postmaster appointments. Prior to 1844, they show sureties for postmasters. Beginning in 1870, they also show the names of post offices to which mail from discontinued offices was sent, as well as additional information on money order offices and presidential appointments. The records consist of 181 manuscript volumes divided among the approximate periods 1832-42, 1843-57, 1858-73, 1874-89, 1890-1929, and 1930-September 30, 1971.
These publications were microfilmed from original records now in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration. For more information visit www.nara.gov or write to:
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
700 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON DC 20408-0001
The microfilm records contain some inaccuracies and are often difficult to read, although some problems can be resolved by checking the original records at the Archives. Several secondary sources that can be helpful in verifying the names and dates of postmasters and other information on post offices follow.
- The Official Register of the United States, compiled biennially from 1817 to 1911 for postal employees, contains the names of postmasters and their salaries for these years. Although these volumes often contain inconsistencies and misspellings, they help in verifying illegible names and general dates of service for postmasters.
- The Postal Bulletin lists the dates of commission for postmasters from March 1880 until about the 1940s. (The commissioning date is usually around a month later than the appointment date.) The Bulletin also gives the dates a post office was established or discontinued and any name or site changes. Indexes to the Bulletin do not refer to specific post offices, so it is necessary to search page by page through the volumes to obtain the needed information.
- The Orders of the Postmaster General or Journals (July 7, 1835, to March 5, 1953) are located at the National Archives in Washington, DC, and show orders relating to the establishment, discontinuance, and name and site changes of post offices, as well as the appointment of postmasters. The volumes prior to about 1910 are helpful in determining whether or not a postmaster resigned, died in office, was removed, or declined an appointment.
- The United States Official Postal Guide was published annually from 1874 to 1954. Although the Guide does not list the names of postmasters, they are helpful as a backup source for the establishments, discontinuances, and name changes of post offices.
- Lists, tables, and directories of post offices are various official or semi-official lists of post offices published prior to 1874, including the years 1797, 1800, 1803, 1805, 1807, 1811, 1813, 1817, 1819, 1822, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1836-1837, 1842, 1846, 1851, 1854-1857, 1859, 1862-1863, 1865, 1867, and 1869-1870. Most of these volumes contain names of postmasters.
Useful Link: "post office records" at the National Archives
Information on post offices and postmasters after 1971 can be obtained from the Historian of the Postal Service:HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
475 L'ENFANT PLAZA SW
WASHINGTON DC 20260-0012
Mail Routes and Contractors
Mail routes can refer to the path mail traveled between post offices or to the path taken by letter and rural carriers as they delivered mail from a post office to households and businesses.
National Archives
Most records on mail and star routes have been transferred by the Postal Service to the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC.
The information in Record Group 28 includes registers of mail and star routes from 1814 to 1960, although there are gaps in these records. Records from 1870 to 1918 were destroyed decades ago. The records usually show the names of the stops along the route as mail traveled between post offices, the names of the bidders for the contract, the frequency of service, the distances involved, and the modes of transportation. They usually do not show the names of subcontractors. There are indexes to mail routes by individual post offices in some time periods.
The Archives also has records on railroad mail route contracts, steamboat mail route service, mail messenger service, and air mail service, as well as information on some rural routes.
Annual Report of the Postmaster General
Lists of railway and inland steamboat routes are contained in the Annual Report from about the mid-1800s to 1905. Specific mail and star route contracts also are described in some editions of the Annual Report.
The Annual Report from 1897 to approximately 1905 also contains information on rural routes, on which carriers delivered mail from a post office to rural homes and businesses. The 1901 Annual Report lists all rural free delivery routes up to July 1901, including their dates of establishment and other information.
Postal Bulletin
The Postal Bulletin contains a significant amount of information on star, railway, rural, air mail, and other mail routes, from 1880 until about the 1940s. Information on rural routes in the Postal Bulletin includes the establishment dates and number of rural routes, number of carriers, the approximate times of arrivals and departures, and any changes in service. Unfortunately, the Postal Bulletin is not indexed by individual post offices and must be searched page by page. The Postal Bulletin has a general index after 1918.
Congressional Serial Set
From about 1817 to 1890, records of various mail and star routes are contained in the Serial Set. These reports show the length and termini of the routes, the names of the bidders, the contractors selected, and other information. There are general indexes to the Serial Set that provide the years and volume numbers of the mail route records, but they contain few references to certain mail routes or specific post offices.
Letters Sent by the Postmaster General, 1789 - 1836
(National Archives Microfilm Publication 601)
These volumes, now on microfilm, contain a great deal of information on early contractors and mail routes. Some of the letters include descriptions of the contracts for carrying the mail with the route numbers, names of the contractors, and their compensations. Each roll has a brief index.
Official Register of the United States (1817 to 1911)
The biennial Offical Register gives the names of mail and star route contractors, their compensation, and the route numbers served. However, subcontractors' names are not shown.
The Official Register also lists the names and salaries of rural carriers and, sometimes, their substitutes from 1897 to 1911.
Federal Statutes
From the late 1700s to the late 1800s, the Statutes list post roads established and discontinued by Congress, usually with the stops on the routes. Each volume of the Statutes has an index to the individual Acts of Congress dealing with post roads or routes, but there are no listings by post office.
Rural Route Cards
Rural route cards (1896-1970s), filed by post office, list route lengths and establishment dates, and names, dates of service, and salaries of rural carriers.
Various Post Office Directories
Some of these publications, including the National Five-Digit ZIP Code and Post Office Directory since 1979, give delivery statistics showing the number of rural and star route boxes served by individual post offices.
Post Route and Rural Route Maps
A number of post route and rural route maps are located in the:
CARTOGRAPHIC AND ARCHITECTURAL BRANCH
NATIONAL ARCHIVES II
8601 ADELPHI RD
COLLEGE PARK MD 20750-0001
and in the
GEOGRAPHY AND MAPS DIVISION
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
WASHINGTON DC 20540-0001
Local Newspapers
Early newspapers often contain advertisements for mail route bids and advertisements of service on various routes.
LOCATIONS OF RECORDS
Copies of the Annual Report, Postal Bulletin, the Congressional Serial Set, Official Register, and Federal Statutes, generally can be found in major federal depository libraries in each state. Complete sets of the Annual Report, Postal Bulletin, and ZIP Code Directory, a nearly complete set of the Official Register, and a partial set of the Congressional Serial Set can be found in the:
CORPORATE LIBRARY
U S POSTAL SERVICE
475 L'ENFANT PLAZA SW
WASHINGTON DC 20260-1540
Most postal records in the National Archives are located at:
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
700 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON DC 20408-0001
The microfilm publication, Letters Sent by the Postmaster General, 1789-1836, can be purchased from the Archives or researched at the main branch in Washington, and the regional branches of the Archives also may have copies. Visit the National Archives web page for a list of regional branches.
Rural route cards are located at the:
CIVILIAN RECORDS FACILITY
NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER
111 WINNEBAGO ST
ST LOUIS MO 63118-4126
National Personnel Records Center
Personnel records for many federal employees whose service ended after about 1910 are maintained at the
CIVILIAN RECORDS FACILITY
NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER
111 WINNEBAGO ST
ST LOUIS MO 63118-4126
The Records Center, which is part of the National Archives and Records
Administration, maintains and will furnish by mail personnel records for
federal employees whose service ended after about 1910. Records less than 75 years old are closed to public
examination at the Center for privacy reasons.
Researchers requesting records from the Records Center should provide the
full name of the employee, his or her date of birth and Social Security
number, if known, the name of agency where last employed, and the place and
approximate dates of employment. Before July 1, 1971, the Postal Service
was known as the Post Office Department, and researchers should list "Post
Office Department" as the agency for records prior to that date.
Research Services for Postal Employees
Upon written request by postal employees, the USPS Historian's staff can provide the names and appointment dates of postmasters who have served at particular post offices, post office establishment and discontinuance dates, and the dates of any post office name changes. This service is available to postal employees only. To make a request, write to:
HISTORIAN
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
475 L'ENFANT PLAZA SW
WASHINGTON DC 20260-0012
Response time varies with number of requests received. Due to small staff size, the Historian's office cannot undertake large research projects. For information on research sources, see Compiling Information on Postmasters and Post Offices above.
Site Location Reports for Post Offices
Site location reports for post offices have been transferred by the Postal Service to the:
NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
700 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW
WASHINGTON DC 20408-0001
Site location reports are forms completed and submitted by postmasters between the 1840s and 1940s. The reports give the location of post offices in relation to nearby post offices, rivers, and roads. Some reports show the location(s) in terms of legal land descriptions or small grid maps of the vicinity of the office and, in rare instances, the application to establish a post office is included in this record group.
These records have been reproduced as National Archives Microfilm Publication M1126, Post Office Department Reports of Site Locations, 1837-1950. Copies for a specific post office or several post offices can be purchased from the Archives.
Further information on postal records at the National Archives can be found at www.nara.gov/genealogy/postal.html.
State Books on Post Offices
Many private researchers have compiled books on post offices by state, using postal records at the National Archives as well as local records. Your local library can help you locate copies of these and other local postal history sources.
ALASKA
United States Post Offices, Volume I - The West
Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1998)
ARIZONA
Arizona Territory: Post Offices and Postmasters
John and Lillian Theobald (Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Historical Foundation, 1961)
ARKANSAS
Checklist of Arkansas Post Offices
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1983)
CALIFORNIA
History of California Post Offices, 1849-1976
Harold E. Salley (Spring Valley, California: Heartland Printing and Publishing Co.,1977)
COLORADO
Colorado Postal History: The Post Offices
William H. Bauer, James L. Ozment and John H. Willard (The Crete News, 1971)
CONNECTICUT
Connecticut Post Offices and Postmarks
Arthur J. Warmsley (Portland, Connecticut: 1977)
DELAWARE
The Postal History of Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the District of Columbia: The Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1984
Chester M. Smith Jr. and John L. Kay (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1984)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
The Postal History of Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the District of Columbia: The Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1984
Chester M. Smith Jr. and John L. Kay (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1984)
FLORIDA
A Chronology of Florida Post Offices
Alford G. Bradbury and E. Story Hallock (The Florida Federation of Stamp Clubs, 1962)
IDAHO
A Checklist Of Idaho Post Offices
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1984)
ILLINOIS
United States Post Offices, Volume III - The Upper Midwest
Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1999)
INDIANA
The Postal History of Indiana
J. David Baker (Louisville, Kentucky: Philatelic Bibliopole, 1976)
IOWA
Iowa Post Offices 1833-1986
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Lake Oswego, Oregon: Raven Press, 1986)
KANSAS
Kansas Post Offices, May 29, 1828-August 3, 1961
Robert W. Baughman (Topeka, Kansas: Kansas State Historical Society, 1961)
KENTUCKY
A Checklist of Kentucky Post Offices
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1989)
LOUISIANA
Louisiana Post Offices
John J. Germann (Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1990)
MAINE
Maine Postal History and Postmarks
Sterling T. Dow (Portland, Maine: Severn-Wylie-Jewett Co., 1943)
MARYLAND
The Postal History of Maryland, the Delmarva Peninsula, and the District of Columbia: The Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1984
Chester M. Smith Jr. and John L. Kay (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1984)
MASSACHUSETTS
The Post Offices of Massachusetts
Lawrence M. Merolla and Frank M. Crowther (North Abington, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Postal Reseach Society, 1981)
MICHIGAN
Michigan Postal History: The Post Offices, 1805-1986
David M. Ellis (Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1993)
MINNESOTA
The Post Offices of Minnesota
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1978)
MISSOURI
Missouri Post Offices 1804-1981
Robert G. Schultz (St. Louis, Missouri: American Philatelic Society, 1982)
MONTANA
Montana Post Offices & Postmasters
Dennis J. Lutz (Rochester, Minnesota: Johnson Printing Company, 1986)
NEBRASKA
Postal History of Nebraska, Part 2
William F. Rapp (Crete, Nebraska: J-B Publishing Co., 1985)
NEVADA
A Century of Nevada Post Offices 1852-1957
Walter N. Frickstad and Edward W. Thrall (Oakland, California: Pacific Rotaprinting Company, 1958)
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The Postal History of New Hampshire: The Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1985
Chester M. Smith Jr. and John L. Kay (Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1986)
NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Postal History
John L. Kay and Chester M. Smith Jr. (Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications Inc., 1977)
NEW MEXICO
A Checklist of New Mexico Post Offices, 1849-1988
Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1989)
NEW YORK
New York Postal History: The Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1980
John L. Kay and Chester M. Smith Jr. (State College, Pennsylvania: American Philatelic Society, 1982)
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota Post Offices 1850-1982
Alan H. Patera and John S. Gallagher (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1982)
OHIO
The Post Offices of Ohio
John S. Gallagher and Alan H. Patera (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1979)
OKLAHOMA/INDIAN TERR.
Oklahoma Post Offices
Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1987)
OREGON
Oregon Post Offices 1847-1982
Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: Raven Press, 1985)
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Postal History
John L. Kay and Chester M. Smith Jr. (Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications, Inc., 1976)
RHODE ISLAND
Rhode Island Postal History: The Post Offices
Lawrence M. Merolla and Frank M. Crowther (Whitman, Massachusetts: The Harding Press, 1977)
SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota Post Offices
Alan H. Patera, John S. Gallagher and Kenneth W. Stach (Lake Grove, Oregon: The Depot, 1990)
TENNESSEE
Tennessee Post Offices and Postmaster Appointments 1789-1984
D. R. Frazier (Dover, Tennessee: self-published, 1984)
TEXAS
Postmasters and Post Offices of Texas, 1846-1930
Jim Wheat (Garland, Texas: self-published, circa 1974)
UTAH
The Post Offices of Utah
John S. Gallagher (Burtonsville, Maryland: The Depot, 1977)
VERMONT
The Postal History of Vermont
George C. Slawson, Arthur W. Bingham, Sprague W. Drenan (New York, New York: Collectors Club, 1969)
WASHINGTON
Washington Post Offices
Tim Boardman and Richard W. Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1986)
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Post Office Handbook, 1821-1971
James B. Hale (Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1988)
WYOMING
A Checklist of Wyoming Post Offices, 1850-1988
Richard Helbock (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1989)
FOR INFORMATION ON UNITED STATES POST OFFICES PRIOR TO 1811
Postmasters & Post Offices of the United States, 1782-1811
Robert J. Stets (Lake Oswego, Oregon: La Posta Publications, 1994)
Patronage Appointments of Postmasters
From 1775 until the early 1800s, postmasters in the United States were appointed by the Postmaster General. In 1836, however, an Act of Congress provided that at all post offices where the annual compensation of the postmaster exceeded one thousand dollars, the postmaster would be appointed by the President, "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate." When post offices were divided into classes in 1864, postmasters of the first, second and third classes were appointed by the President, while the Postmaster General continued to appoint postmasters of the smaller post offices.Following these procedures for Presidential appointment, selections for postmasters were made by Congressmen under a complicated "advisor" system, requiring a would-be postmaster to gain the support of his Representative or Senator, then Presidential nomination to the Senate, and finally Senate confirmation.Patronage in Post Office Department appointments was gradually loosened by the Pendleton Act of 1883 and the Ramspeck-O'Mahoney Act of 1938, and Teddy Roosevelt's presidency marked an end to the mass employee purges of the 19th century. The positions of postmaster (and, later, rural carrier) remained essentially political, however, until February 5, 1969, when President Richard Nixon and Postmaster General Winton M. Blount jointly announced an end to political appointments in the Post Office Department. Future appointments, the President declared, would be made "on a merit basis without the usual political clearance."On February 25, 1969, the President asked Congress for enabling legislation to remove the statutory requirement for Presidential approval and Senatorial confirmation of postmasters, to provide for appointment of all postmasters by the Postmaster General, and "to prohibit political considerations in the selection or promotion of postal employees."The Senate passed a bill embodying these recommendations on July 8, 1969. In the meantime the issue of patronage became merged with the more comprehensive movement for postal reform embodied in the proposed Postal Reform Act submitted to Congress in June 1969. It was not until August 1970, with the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act, that patronage in the Post Office was legally ended by a bill that explicitly prohibited "political recommendations" in the personnel affairs of the Post Office. On November 29, 1970, the first group of postmasters appointed on merit alone under the Postal Reorganization Act took office.
